


Ilia's First Revenge

by Kiiratam



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Canon Compliant, Comfort, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26202400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: Ilia can'twaitto see the Schnee heiress suffer.Takes place between Volumes 2 & 3 (My BMBLB fic index).A prequel toIlia's Revenge.
Relationships: Ilia Amitola/Blake Belladonna
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	Ilia's First Revenge

Ilia slammed the door shut, and mimed locking it. Still facing the door, she allowed herself a small grin. It was **finally** happening.

  
Behind her, Miss Schnee kept whining - as she had for the _entire_ term of Ilia's employment - probably something about how life wasn't _fair_ , and who did these criminal degenerates think they were, and what sort of _animal_ would attack her home, and so on and so on. Ilia had honestly stopped listening after the first couple of days, only paying enough attention to nod at the appropriate points, or make the appropriate noises to keep her dumb and ranting. 'You're absolutely right, Miss Schnee,' 'The sheer audacity,' 'They ought to know their place.'

  
Her responses honestly turned her stomach a bit, but Ilia was ready to make that sacrifice for the cause. It wouldn't be the first time. But hopefully this would be the last.

  
Composing her face, Ilia turned around to face Miss Schnee. She didn't make eye contact - that was strictly forbidden by her contract - and tried to put the correct amount of fear and quaver into her voice. "The door is locked, but I don't know if it will hold if one of those animals tries to break in." Too much fear, and Miss Schnee would just call her hysterical, and come over to check the door herself, because she had nearly as much contempt for the help as she did for Faunus. Too little fear, and even a spoiled heiress would become suspicious.

  
"Of _course_ it will hold, Ilia. My father wouldn't skimp on security for his heir." That self-assured set of her shoulders, that complete certainty that her place in the world was secure - the arrogance privilege of it all! It was only with great self-control that Ilia kept her skin from flaring crimson.

  
And with the uncanny timing of the Schnees, the ability to show up at the absolute worst time with reinforcements, just like her older sister, Miss Schnee reached out and put her hand on Ilia's shoulder.

  
Which... was new. As Miss Schnee's maid, Ilia had to constantly be touching her - helping her dress, undress, brush her hair, apply her make-up, wait on her hand and foot - but Miss Schnee never touched _her_. It was a strictly one-way contact.

  
It had seemed like a boon, at first. Miss Schnee had her faults - her many, many, _many_ faults - but at least she didn't beat the servants. Personally, or even through proxies. Which was more than Ilia could say about other members of the Schnee household. Ilia wondered if it had something to do with her aspirations to be a Huntress. Maybe she was foolish enough to buy into the lies about Huntresses protecting everyone. Atlas Academy would fix that.

  
After months and months of Ilia's service, sleeping in the little room adjacent to Miss Schnee's, with hardly a day off, and certainly no contact with any of her real friends - apart from dead drops, and _talk_ about one-way contacts - and there wasn't even anyone she could relax around....

  
Ilia shivered, and cursed inwardly. To fail, to be discovered now, two minutes to midnight...It probably wouldn't _change_ anything, but it would be deeply humiliating, a blow to Ilia's pride in her craft.

  
Miss Schnee withdrew her hand with a frown. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

  
Fortunately, Ilia was too shocked to react, which meant she could get control of heself, before looking directly into Miss Schnee's eyes. What had gotten into the heiress? Was it just knowing that her manor was under attack? Was this her cracking her icy heart just a little bit open, hoping for some kindness before the end?

  
Ilia decided that must be it. Miss Schnee, like her father, wasn't an idiot. No one could run a corporation as profitably as the Schnees and be _dumb_. Immoral, unjust, downright evil - but they were brilliant. Horrifyingly so. Miss Schnee was clearly setting contingency plans, just in case the room was breached. Show the maid a little kindness, pretend she's human for a few minutes, and reap the dividends of that affection.

  
Well, Ilia wasn't going to fall for it.

  
...Though Miss Schnee _did_ think she was human. Literally. Ilia had fallen back on everything she'd learned as a child, and Miss Schnee had no idea that her personal maid was actually a Faunus.

  
It had been... nice. And dwelling too much on that made it so easy to want to pass again. Amid all the tensions of the job, being 'human' placed her higher on the servant's pecking order. Her supper was always hot, her maintenance requests were quickly met... Some of it was just being Miss Schnee's maid, Ilia knew, but not all of it.

  
And she'd tried to use her ability to pass tactically - not just this whole operation, but looking out for the Faunus servants, as well as she could without compromising herself. A loud conversation with 'another' human servant about a doctor who was willing to see Faunus, and how that was _disgraceful_ , all within earshot of one of the Faunus servants with a sick child. A few lines in one of her dead drops about a servant who had been fired unjustly, when they had a family to support. Ilia had tried to frame it as a recruitment opportunity, and she hoped her superiors had accepted that. But she hadn't been able to do enough. Sometimes, she'd just had to sit and _smile_ , and even come up with outrageous stories about _those sort of people_ for the entertainment of her 'peers.'

  
"Please, sit with me." Miss Shnee crossed to her sitting area, and sat down on the couch, instead of in her favorite chair.

  
Telling herself that she was almost done, she just had to keep up the facade a little while longer, Ilia sat next to Miss Schnee.

  
"I just can't believe this is happening. The White Fang, here? How did they know that the military is on secret maneuvers? They're secret! It's supposed to keep Mantle from worrying about their defense! And how did they know that our security force has been reduced to deal with the heat riots? They wear uniforms and helmets for a _reason_! And the fight started inside the estate walls! It _must_ be an inside job."

  
Ilia squeezed her hands together, knuckles white. She'd passed all of those details along the White Fang, after Miss Schnee had accidentally left out a number of reports one late night. A courtesy note from General Ironwood about the maneuvers, which Mr. Schnee had shared with his daughter, amid curses. A report from the head of security, recommending that the manor hire outside personnel to make up for their current shortage. All the White Fang had to do was get some of their own hired, and they had opened the gate for the larger force. The one that would be beating down Miss Schnee's door shortly. Or, really, just slipping inside, since the door wasn't locked.

  
Miss Schnee fumed. "And here I am, hiding my room. I'm sure the rest of my family are cowering, too, but _they_ don't know how to fight."

  
Ilia ventured a cautious statement. "I'm sure the security forces just want to keep you safe." She left out how valuable Miss Schnee would be as a hostage. There was no reason to tip her off, just to get the pleasure of foreshadowing.

  
"Yes, yes, I know. I don't have to _enjoy_ it, but I do understand their reasoning. They can fight better when they don't have to worry about protecting me." Miss Schnee paused, in a rare moment of self-awareness. "And I suppose my weapon is in this room."

  
Ilia saw an opportunity to outflank Miss Schnee, or even spit her on her own sword. "Would Miss like me to-"

  
"No, no, plenty of time for that later, if they start battering down the door. It's just in a box. It won't take you but a minute."

  
Ilia bit her lip to keep her smile off of her face. Miss Schnee's arrogance would see her facing the White Fang unarmed.

  
The sounds of fighting were getting closer, echoing through the tall halls of the Schnee Manor. Ilia wasn't sure who'd they send - whether they'd managed to marshal enough to sweep room by room, or whether it was just small strike teams, hitting targets off of the maps she'd sent - Ilia hadn't been kept updated on the plan, or even known more than the general thrust of it, just in case she had been compromised. And Ilia had been away from the leadership for nearly a year now, establishing her cover identity, getting hired, being Miss Schnee's loyal maid...

  
But all of that was almost over. Ilia found herself practically quivering in anticipation, despite her best efforts.

  
Frowning, Miss Schnee took Ilia's hand, pressing it tightly between her own two. "Don't _worry_ , Ilia, you're just a servant. I hear the White Fang doesn't kill bystanders. Like at Cobaldish Mine. They certainly killed all the administrators there, and decorated the mining equipment with them, but the only other people hurt were the security forces. And that one secretary who tried to protect the director. But she made a full recovery."

  
Ilia had to admit, she was oddly comforted by Miss Schnee's words. Not the transparent attempt to encourage her to protect Miss Schnee - that was almost laughable. It might have worked if Ilia was as frightened and suggestible as she was pretending to be. But at least Miss Schnee was spending her words on that, and not ranting and raving about degenerate Faunus defiling her family home. Mr. Schnee almost certainly was, and Ilia hoped that none of the Faunus servants were being forced to listen to it.

  
Besides, she'd been with Miss Schnee for months now. It was natural to feel a bit of sympathy, maybe even a slight amount of regret. Ilia had never lost sight of the fact that all of the Schnees were horrible people, benefiting from their oppressive decisions, but they were still people. But still, Ilia had pride in what she'd accomplished. Even if the attack wasn't a complete success, striking at the Schnees themselves - it gave them leverage. If the White Fang could punish the Schnees, no one was beyond them. They could win justice for all Faunus.

  
Miss Schnee had apparently run out of comforting words, or she felt that she'd planted the seed of sacrifice in Ilia's head, and more words would only ruin Ilia's growing desire to protect her employer. She was just squeezing Ilia's hand tightly.

  
There was a light trickle of embarrassment winding its way through Ilia's mind. At the end, the only person Miss Schnee had left was her maid. Her White Fang infiltrator maid, who had _longed_ for her weapon the first days of her employment. Who, even now, was impatiently awaiting the end of her job, and the freedom to see-

  
Miss Schnee gasped, and Ilia looked up at her, directly into her startled blue eyes, hoping-

  
A dark-haired woman in a Grimm mask had her black sword poised at the base of Miss Schnee's skull. She spoke, "Any last words, Schnee?"

  
Letting go of Ilia's hands, Miss Schnee raised her hands slowly. "You wouldn't have a chance against me in a fight."

  
Ilia had to give her credit, she had guts. But her heart was too busy leaping, because -

  
Blake laughed, and all of Ilia's months of undercover work were worth it. "Why would I fight on your terms?" She beckoned behind her, and the rest of her team came forward, binding Miss Schnee's hands, and bustling her out of the room, none too gently.

  
The door clicked shut behind them. Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud, and vaulted over the couch, sprawling out, and putting her legs on Ilia's lap. Grinning under her mask, she asked, "So, come here often?"

  
Groaning, Ilia shoved Blake's legs to the floor. "Eight months, and I get pick-up lines?" She nestled back into Blake's embrace, pulling her lover's arms tight around her. "I take it we won?"

  
"Total rout. One team hit the local robot control room, and between that and a quarter of the security force switching sides..." Blake tore her mask from her face - she'd always hated wearing masks, and loved dramatically flinging them aside - and tossed it onto Miss Schnee's favorite chair. "The manor is ours, and High Leader Khan is going to be issuing demands shortly." She wrapped her arms tightly around Ilia.

  
"Good." Ilia sighed happily, months of tension draining out of her. It had all worked, and Faunus everywhere would be better off for it. But Ilia was willing to set aside the cause for now - at least for a few hours. But first - "Schnee's weapon is around here, if you want it."

  
"Oh really?" Blake's lips brushed a kiss on Ilia's neck. "Very interesting."

  
"And her document safe is right over by her desk. The combination is-" Ilia broke off as Blake nibbled on her ear.

  
"Go on," Blake whispered. "Tell me how brilliant you are."

  
Pressing herself back against Blake, Ilia went bright pink. Finally letting herself be herself. "I love you."

  
"Even when I make you blush?"

  
"That's _all the time_."

  
"I know." Ilia heard Blake's grin. "And I really missed you and your blushes."

  
Bringing Blake's hands up, Ilia kissed them, not caring that she was crying.

  
Blake, however, definitely seemed to care, because she scooped Ilia up in her arms, and carried her to bed. She set Ilia gently down, and jumped on next to her, holding her tightly. "I love you."

  
Ilia sniffled, her tears still dripping out, and she knew she was all blue and she hated how she looked when she was sad, it was like a stupid cartoon, and-

  
"I love you." Blake whispered in her ear. "And I'm going to tell you that a lot, so I hope you don't get tired of it."

  
"I won't. I'll never get tired of it."

  
"I'll make up for lost time, I promise." Pulling back a few inches, Blake brushed Ilia's tears away. "We have time."

  
And she was so close, and their legs were intertwined, and Blake's lips were so soft and Ilia leaned forward, kissing her-

* * *

  
Ilia's eyes snapped open. Whoever was passing in the hallway kept moving, the floor creaking.

  
She clutched Lightning Lash tightly, under her pillow, furious. The closest she'd come to a happy dream in years, and it had all been ruined by some idiot going to get a drink in the middle of the night. Or - Ilia pulled out her scroll, and sighed. The middle of the day, really. Her sleep schedule wasn't, not really, and she'd been a bundle of nerves, and useless to the White Fang since Blake had left.

  
So they'd reassigned her to Menagerie. It wasn't a vacation. No one called it a vacation. And she was still doing missions...

  
Just not important ones.

  
Ilia forced her hand to relax around Lightning Lash. She'd give herself a cramp.

  
It was just, stuck out here - Ilia wanted to be _useful_ , and -

  
No.

  
No, in order to be useful, she had to get over Blake. Or she'd betray the cause just like Blake had, running away.

  
Ilia checked her scroll. The Vytal Tournament was going to start soon. She should watch that, take notes, try to assemble dossiers on tomorrow's Huntresses. It was impossible to tell how many would wind up working for Atlas, or the SDC, or just act contrary to the White Fang's goals.

  
She sighed, and got out of bed. Lying there, trying to sleep, trying to recapture her dream - none of that would help.

  
Maybe someone would be free to spar.


End file.
